To:

Thomas Knotts
From: Engineering Group
Date: 6 October 2015
Subject:
Proposal to characterize the new heating system on the stirred tank.
Introduction
Recently, the heating system on one of our stirred, short-term storage tanks was
replaced. The previous system used an externally-mounted heat exchanger to
maintain the temperature of the fluid in the tank at the desired value prior to
delivery into the reactor. The new system uses a steam coil installed directly inside
the tank. The heat transfer properties of this new system need to be characterized
in order to develop the control system for the process. This document describes the
approach proposed to create the needed heat transfer model.
Theory
Analysis of the heat transfer characteristics in the tank can proceed by beginning
with an energy balance. Taking the system to be the fluid in the tank, the following
assumptions are made:
1. The system is stationary.
2. Because the tank is used for storage, no mass flows into or out of the system.
3. The shaft work done on the fluid by stirrer is negligible.
The resulting energy balance is

dU
=Q
dt
where

is the total internal energy of system,

(1)
is time, and

is the heat

flowing into the system. The heat transfer rate can be expressed by

Q=UA ( T sT )
where

in the tank,

(2)

is the overall heat transfer coefficient between the steam and the fluid

is the surface area available for heat transfer,

temperature of the steam, and

Ts

is the

is the temperature of the fluid in the tank.

Assuming the fluid is incompressible,

dU =V C p dT

(3)

where

is the density of the fluid,

is the volume of the fluid, and

Cp

is

the constant pressure heat capacity of the fluid. Substituting Equations 2 and 3 into
Equation 1 gives

V C p

dT
=UA (T sT )
dt

T =T 1

The initial condition of the system is

at

t=0 , where

(4)

T1

is the

temperature of the fluid before steam is introduced into the coil. Assuming the
contents of the tank are well mixed so that the temperature inside the tank is
uniform and that the properties of the fluid are constant with respect to
temperature, integration of Equation 4 yields

ln

T sT
UA
=
t
T sT 1 V C p

(5)

Equation 5 is the design equation that can be used to model the heat transfer
characteristics of the system. The unknown of interest in Equation 5 is UA .
Experiments will be done to calculate

UA

for the fluid stored in the tank. Once

known, Equation 5 can be used to control the system within desired temperature
ranges.
Methods
Apparatus
Figure 1 shows a schematic of the experimental apparatus. The actual storage tank
and stirrer that will be installed in the plant will be used in the experiments. The
tank is 66 inches tall and the inside diameter is 39 inches which gives a total
capacity of 341.3 gallons. The heating coil is made of -in, Schedule 40, galvanized
iron pipe (O.D. 1.05 in, I.D. 0.824 in) and is 33 ft in length. The entrance of the coil
is 55 inches from the bottom of the tank so that the entire coil is submerged when
the tank is filled with 300 gallons of reagentsthe amount currently used in the
process.

Figure 1 Storage tank with heating coil.

The height of the liquid in the tank can be read on the side of the tank. Two, type K
thermocouples, obtained from the Omega company, have been installed inside of
the tank to measure the temperature of the liquid. The in-house steam plant
supplies the heating coil with saturated steam. The pressure of the saturated steam
is regulated using a manual control valve and is measured using a pressure
transducer from Data Instruments Inc. (Model # 9300101). A stirrer ensures the
contents of the tank are well mixed. The entire system is controlled with Labview
software which records the temperature measurements as a function of time.

Experimental Design
In order to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient for the process,
experiments will be performed to measure the temperature rise of the fluid as a
function of time when steam is introduced into the coil. The tank will be filled with
300 gallons of culinary water, and it is assumed that the properties of water are the
same as those of the aqueous reagents used in the plant. After the initial
temperature of the water is recorded, the steam will then be turned on and
temperature vs. time data will be collected. These data will be fit to Equation 5 to
produce values of

UA . The density and heat capacity of the water will be

obtained from the DIPPR database. Steam pressures of 1, 2, 3, and 4 psig will be
tested. At least 5 replicates at each pressure will be done to ensure statistical
significance.
Expected Outcomes

The transfer of heat from the steam to the fluid can be modeled as a series of
thermal resistances. Heat is transferred by condensation on the steam side of coil
to the inner wall of the coil. This heat is then transferred by conduction through the
wall and then from the outside wall of the coil to the fluid by forced convection.
Convective heat transfer by condensation and conduction through the iron pipe
present the least amount of resistance to the heat transfer but is governed by the
forced convection on the outside of the pipe. As such,

UA

will not likely depend

upon stream pressure and will be on the order of the convective heat transfer
coefficient,

ho , on the outside of the coil. Assuming

ho =35

W m-2 K-1, and an

initial water temperature of 50 F, a sample calculation was done to determine a

likely temperature vs. time graph. The results are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Sample calculations showing expected temperature vs. time plot using estimates
of the heat transfer coefficient.